New study reveals change in holiday habits for over 50s

New study reveals change in holiday habits for over 50s

Completely changed in the last 10 years, with 52 per cent of respondents over 50 admitting to changing their habits.

Avanti reports that whilst people still book up over 50 travel insurance, two-in-three people aged over 50 have changed the number of times they go on holiday a year and over half of those questioned said they have changed the destination of their holiday.

The poll, which was conducted by the Centre for Economics and Business Research (Cebr) and commissioned by Saga Travel, also found that almost half of those polled have changed the type of holiday they go on and over a third have changed the time of year they travel.

People are going on holiday more often

Two thirds of the respondents who said the number of times they go on holiday has changed revealed that they now travel more than they did 10 years ago. Only 27 per cent of people travel less than they did a decade ago. Out of the 67 per cent of people who revealed they travel more often, half said they now travel three or more times per year.

As travel insurance policies for a cruise continue to be taken out it is therefore unsurprising that the results of the research found that the most popular type of holiday for the older generation is a cruise, with 33 per cent of 80-89 year olds saying that this was their preferred type of holiday.

Around a third of older travellers only go on touring holidays compared to just 15 per cent that want to relax in a resort. Out of the 10,015 people polled only 9 per cent went on holiday with either their family, children or grandchildren. The study also found that over 50 per cent of the UK’s expenditure on travel and tourism is made by over 50s. On Travel Weekly a spokesperson added, “The over 50s have a thirst for life and that adventurous spirit is evident in their growing importance to the holiday market where they now make up the majority of travel spend in the UK.”